Saturday, November 3, 2012

The cost of credentials

The average age at which a woman in the UK starts a family has hit 30 – an increase of almost two years since 1995. But experts warned last night that the growing trend for late motherhood could be putting the health of babies at risk. The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists said that women who waited longer to give birth needed to be informed of the potential problems, such as the risk of Down's syndrome and complications during delivery.

The figures, from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, show that the UK and Germany are tied at the top of a league table of average maternal age. They also reveal that British women tend to wait an extra five years to have their first child compared with those in the United States, where the average age is 25. The latest figures show that almost 350,000 children are born every year to women above the age of 30 in the UK. Of these, almost 28,000 mothers are above the age of 40. In 2010, some 141 babies were born to women above the age of 50.

It has been suggested that the increasing tendency for women to delay motherhood is because they are more likely go to university and pursue a career.

What is the point of encouraging more women to obtain academic credentials if that means they are going to be producing a smaller number of unhealthier, less cognitively capable children in the next generation? Even if more female credentials were materially beneficial to society, (and Roissy's post on the latest Baumeister paper casts a great deal of doubt upon that idea), the benefit would be short-term and last only a single generation. Are the much smaller number of women in the next generation, a statistically significant minority of whom are retarded, born out of wedlock, and otherwise handicapped, going to be able to maintain and continue the societal benefits established by their mothers?

That is highly improbable. Once more, we see that the structural inconsistences of a feminist society are even more powerful than those that caused the Communist societies to collapse.

The rise of technocracy and especially economic technocracy has enabled the use of these bullshit statistics that aggregate and confound issues that should be separated and distinguished from each other. You have hoodrats with 6 kids by 5 different guys bringing down the average yet these fools compare two aggregate numbers like they mean something. Trailer parks probably have an average of 16, maybe we should turn the whole country into one of those.

"Are the much smaller number of women in the next generation, a statistically significant minority of whom are retarded, born out of wedlock, and otherwise handicapped, going to be able to maintain and continue the societal benefits established by their mothers"

When feminists can not be convinced of the evidence correlating high stress with poor heath for women that is currently available, how on earth will they accept the logic that this model of life decisions is unsustainable in a generation?

One argument I've seen for why so many women pursue degrees and careers before motherhood is that they need a fallback for when the husband eventually cheats on her and deserts the family, leaving her holding the bag. The irony, of course, is that women are much more likely to end the marriage than men.

Well, here's the counterpoint to that... If a girl hasn't found the right guy, and isn't dating, exactly what do you expect her to do? She should be out there supporting her own ass instead of waiting for Mr. Perfect. Instead your whining about how they are doing it all wrong and that they must all be outright man-hating feminists.

Obviously they have upped their game in terms of having goals for themselves, so up yours!

More like SassyD! Lol, you're obviously a really smart, independent-thinking woman. You should go pick a fight over at Vox Popoli, it's a misogynist cesspool. You could really tear them a new one over there!

A point that you're missing is that feminism has resulted in a greater number of losers. Fewer men have the opportunity for sex, fewer women have the opportunity for commitment, and fewer children have the opportunity of growing up in two parent home. Your example of the woman who hasn't found the right guy is one of the many losers.

Women have such a ridiculous advantage in the dating market that I have no sympathy for any of them that cannot find a man...every single aspect of the SMP gives women enormous advantages and a nearly foolproof way to succeed.

Any woman but the most obese, bitchy, feminazi land whales could get themselves a decent man with the tiniest bit of effort if only they did not all insist on a guy with the looks of Brad Pitt, the wealth of Bill Gates,is desired by all other women (but somehow only has eyes for her), and is amazing in the bedroom, but only the twice twice a year she wants it (after buying her expensive jewelry.)

The likes of Savvy are women who held out for men above their league and eventually settled in their 30s to men of way lower rank than they initially held out for.

But solipsism won't allow them to see that, instead in their minds their catch is the 'one'. So it takes women over a decade to come to grips with their assortive mating status, or the decline of their status as they age ends up matching the guys they eschewed in their early days.

Why is it even assumed that these harridans really care about the next generation? I am sure that to many of them, their kids are the equivalent of a celeb's purse dog - an accessory that is just part of the "having it all" package. As long as they get to check off another item on their trip through life, it's all good for them.

anolen: "Education is a catch-22 for women. There are fewer men in their 20s who able to support a family. Chances you'll catch one- notso hotso."

Plenty of single men in their 30s would be happy to date and court girls in their early 20s. Such age disparities between spouses used to be commonplace. Why should they not be acceptable today?

In major cities like NYC and LA, there are armies of eligible bachelors in their 30s (and 40s) who have everything going for them but do not consider marriage attractive if involving a woman well past her prime. Bring the 20s women together with the 30s men and the current dating market could change dramatically.

Pip, seriously. Have you known down syndrome people? The effect they have on those around them is of great consequence. If you aren't Christian, I can understand your utilitarianist perspective. But, if you are, you should read a little more of the Bible.

Frankly, I say things are turning out very, very well. Fewer and fewer men are getting married. We no longer face the uncertainty of a life-time of alimony and child support by getting married. Careers of 60 hour work weeks and never ending stress to get a promotion no longer serve a purpose and are thus not required. Sex is available from females on birth control with abortion as a back up plan. If women want to raise and support a family, that's their problem to deal with on their own. Propagating our great nations has always been the outcome of men's commitment but we just got demonized for that as well. All I can say is that the women's liberation movement worked, but only for men. And we thank you ladies!

"In major cities like NYC and LA, there are armies of eligible bachelors in their 30s (and 40s) who have everything going for them but do not consider marriage attractive if involving a woman well past her prime. Bring the 20s women together with the 30s men and the current dating market could change dramatically. "

Been there. In NYC, dating in my twenties, guys with aspirations to family/settling down were very, very thin on the ground. The vast majority of eligible men were in their 30s-40s. They're totally focused on their career, and in even sadder cases, their next lay. Frankly, if a guy's in his 40s and still looking, there is something holding him back.

It's uncommon for men to date with a plan- almost as uncommon as it is for women to. There's a maturity required to make a marriage work that most singles, especially those in high-octane metro areas, just don't have. Very few are willing to make the compromises necessary to settle down and have children.

You may be the exception, best of luck to you. I found a husband when I moved back to the flyover states. P.S. I married somebody my own age; imho, it works better, especially in these times of extended-childhood.

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